A Nottinghamshire council leader said he is “furious” after his area missed out on millions in the Government’s ‘Levelling Up Fund’.
Bassetlaw became the third area to be left out of the first round of the fund, which was announced during Rishi Sunak’s Budget on Wednesday.
The district joins Gedling borough and Nottingham city in having bids of up to £20 million rejected for key regeneration schemes.
The North Nottinghamshire area was listed by Government as a priority for ‘levelling up’ and was placed into category one for its needs.
Category one areas are those with the highest identified need for support in areas like transport, economic recovery and growth.
Bassetlaw District Council, like its counterparts in Gedling and the city, had bid for the funding to kickstart several, vital projects to improve the district.
Funding from the bid was planned to improve traffic flow around Worksop’s Victoria Square, making it more accessible for cyclists and pedestrians.
The council also wanted to remove surplus retail space and create more leisure and public spaces and had plans to open up parts of Chesterfield Canal.
Councillor Simon Greaves (Lab), leader of the council, expressed his anger and disappointment at the news.
He said: “I’m beyond disappointed, I’m furious,”
“The fact is, Bassetlaw was in the top priority area for ‘levelling up’, category one, and was one of the areas meant to be first in line for funding.
“Our bid was submitted, working with the right people and departments, and there’s no sign of any money whatsoever.
“Our bid focused on regeneration of Worksop town centre, something that’s very important to us in Bassetlaw, and we’re still wanting further detail from the Government about why we were not awarded funding.
“It was a £20 million bid, and from what I can see, this was not a Budget that levels up Bassetlaw.”
He added the council will be applying for the second round of the Levelling Up Fund next spring, with the authority to have conversations about whether its bid will be tweaked.
Nottingham City Council will also be reapplying in the second round to push forward with its plans for the derelict former Broadmarsh Shopping Centre.
The authority was hit with its own hammer blow on Wednesday when it, too, was left out in the first round.
It had bid for £20 million which would lead to the complete demolition of the existing structure, but the announcement now leaves doubt over when this can, or will, take place.
The Ministry for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities did not respond to the Local Democracy Reporting Service’s request for a comment.
However, announcing the Levelling Up Fund in last week’s budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “I’m allocating the first round of bids from the Levelling Up Fund – £1.7 billion to invest in the infrastructure of everyday life in over 100 local areas.
“This will benefit the whole United Kingdom.”
